Personal Injury Law

Ousted Official Pledges Libel Lawsuit against Blogger

By Michael

A former Department of Agriculture official who was fired as a result of unfair allegations by a controversial Internet figure may soon have her day in court.

Recently, Shirley Sherrod announced her intention to file a personal injury lawsuit against Andrew Breitbart, who posted a heavily edited video on his website that unfairly portrayed Sherrod as a racist. The portion of the video he posted showed Sherrod making comments about her initial reluctance to help a poor white farmer.

However, viewed in the context of her full speech, Sherrod clearly was not making racist statements. Rather, she was delivering a moving testimonial about the positive change in racial relationships she experienced through her work at the Department of Agriculture.

According to some experts, Sherrod may have a strong case against Breitbart, reports the Huffington Post. For starters, Sherrod experienced clear short-term damage from Breitbart?s irresponsible actions.

In the words of Professor Stephen Solomon, a First Amendment scholar at New York University, Sherrod ?can probably prove some reputational injury in the legal sense, as she was fired and was depicted as a racist for a few days. That certainly hurt her reputation.?

Of course, there are some complications in the case that may prevent Sherrod from seeking damages. First, Sherrod?s reputation has been wholly restored after a media firestorm accused everyone from Breitbart to the Obama Administration of harming the innocent woman.

As Solomon observes, ?I’d be surprised if there is any reasonable person now who believes that she’s a racist; in fact, much the contrary. She is written about with great respect.” As a result, it may be difficult for Sherrod to prove that her reputation suffered long-term damage.

Moreover, in order to win the case, Sherrod must prove both that the information Breitbart posted was false and that he deliberately posted such false information.

In his defense, Breitbart has claimed that he posted the portion of the video that he received from an anonymous source. Thus, he did not knowingly post a truncated version of the video, and thought he was posting the entire film.

In response, though, Sherrod can counter that he acted recklessly in posting what was obviously a heavily edited version of a much longer speech. At the very least, the irresponsible nature of Breitbart?s actions provide Sherrod ample hope for some legal relief.

Unfortunately, Sherrod?s nightmare is not an isolated incident. Across the country, many people are victims of false public allegations that unjustly damage their reputation. Further, most victims of character defamation do not have the power of a sympathetic national media to restore their reputation.

If you have been the victim of libel or slander, consider contacting a personal injury attorney to see if your claim has legal merit.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on August 10, 2010 (boomark / email).